The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 6 plus 1 letter word LOMBARDY POPLAR L
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
O
M
B
A
R
D
Y
P
O
P
L
A
R
L
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Tree" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case tree = lombardy poplar l.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.